Apparatus for manufacturing fuel-gas.



No. 879,320. PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908. G. H. RIDER.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL GAS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED FEB. 18, 1908.

. G. H. RIDER. APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL GAS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25,1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

St. Louis, Missouri,

drawings, iorminga part hereof.

CHARLES H. RIDER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL-GAS.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

l'ateined Feb. 18, 1908.

Application filed May 2a. 1907. $eria1 in. 375,730.

' To all whom it may conce n:

Cninrss RIDER, a Staies, and resident of havw invented certain Appa- Be it known that I, citizen of the United new and useful Improvements in an ratus for Manufacturing i uel-Gas from Mineral Carbonates and CaIhWIIZLCGOUS Materials, of which the following is a specification cont aining a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying lvi y invention relates lo an apparatus for manufacturing fuel from mineral carbonates and carbonaceous materials, and my object being to construct a simple, inexpensivc apparatus in the torn oil a furnace and retorts for thoroughly d1 composing the carbonates or carbonaceous material so as to free the carbon dioxid and other non-ignitible gases from the 'carbinates, and to conduct said gases through body of heated carbon. in order to convert said gases into carbon monoxid, methane, ard hydro en gases, which can be used without furt or treatment fuel for gas engines, and the like,or for heating purposes.

A further object of my invention is to arrange a series of air tight retorts and connections in a furnace, which contain the min eral carbonates, and carbonaceous material, from which. the is extracted and manufactured, which air tight arrangement is necessary in order to cannpletely exclude the l air from. the mineral ca rbonate s, carbon, and

gas, during the operaiimi of manufacturing said gas.

To the above purposes, my invention consists in certain novel eatures of construction and arrangement oi ts, which will be hereinafter more fully so. forth, ointed out in the claims, and illustrated in t 1e accompanying drawings, in which 52 v znproved construction, with series or bench oi retorts therein; Fig. 2 is a rear clevation of furnace and retorts; Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken. approximately on the line 251 of Fig. Land showing the connections between the retorts; l is a front elevation of a Water trap or seal, through which the gas passes after being manufac tured, Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of the rear end of the upper one of the rctorts of my improved apparatus; Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken through the l. is a front elevation'oi' a furnace of l I i l l front ends of the lower apparatus.

referring by numerals to the accompanying 'drawingsz l designates thefurnace of my improved apparatus, which is of the construction usually employed in gas producers, and arranged in said furnace, in the usual pair of retorts of the manner,- are the pairs of retorts 2, which re- I ceive the'mineral carbonates from which the gas is extracted, and the forward ends of said retorts are provided with tubular metal fittings 3, the forward ends of which are closed and made air tight by means of plates 4 and saidtubular fittings 3 being united by the tubular connections 5.

The rear ends of the retorts 2 are provided with tubular fittings 6, which are closed and made air tight by the removable plates 7.

Arranged above the up er one'of'eachrei tort '2 is a retort 8, whic receives carbon, and the forward endof said retort Sis provided with a tubular fittingg, which is-connected to the upper one of each of the. tubular fittings 3 by means of a tubular-connection 0. l

The forward ends of the tubular fittings 9 are closed and made air tight by the remove able plates 11, and, arranged on the rear ends of the retorts 8 outer ends of Whichare closed an made air tight by removable'plates 13; .and leading upwardly from each tubular fittin 12 is a discharge'pi e pipe 14 disc arges into a water seal or trap '15, and leading from said'trap is a pipe 16, which discharges into a gasometer, or like container, and in which p exhaust fan 17, or like device. .When my improved apparatus is in use, limestone, or other mineral carbonate, or

carbonaceous material, after being broken,

are tubular fittin s 12, the

14. The end of this ischargepe is located'aln I until the same are about three-fourths full. i I

Charcoal, or other carbon, coarsely broken, is placed in the retorts 8 in sufficient amount to approximately fill said retorts.- The plates 4, 7, 11, and 13 are now tightly seatedon the ends of the tubular fittin s so as to make the retorts perfectly air tig t, andjire is built in the furnace, using any desirable fuel, and the temperature in the retorts is brought to-about 1100 R, which temperature is maintained as near as ossible until all of the volatile matter has con expelled from the carbonates within the retorts 2,

the walls of said retort-s.

which operation requires from three to four I hours. 1 During the decarbonization of the mineral carbonates, the exhaust fan 17 is operated continuously so as to remove the gases from the retorts 2 and 8 as fast asgenerated, there- 4 by hastening the op ration,

and at the same excess pressure against The gases thus generated in the retorts 2 are drawn through the tubular connections 5 and 10, to and through the retorts 8 containing the charcoal, or other carbon; and from thence said gases pass through the discharge pipe 14 into the trap or water seal 15, and froml thence through the pipe 16 to the gasometer, from whence said gas may be drawn oil' and used as desired. During this operation, the l generation of non-ignitible carbon dioxid is almost completely prevented by excluding the air from the retorts during the decarbonization of the carbonates, and whatever carbon dioxid is formed is completely contime preventing an verted into carbon monoxid during its passage through the red hot charcoal, or other carbon contained in the retorts 8, owing to the total absence of air, shown by the reaction Owing to the moistureand water of crystallization and organic impurities contained in nearly all limestone or other mineral carbonates, there is formed ment of the carbonates a compound gas,

during this treatcomposed. of carbon monoxid, methane,

hydrogen, and a small amount of nitrogen;

as follows: carbon monoxid, (CO) 88% to methane, (0H,) 1% to 3%; hydro- 5%; nitrogen, (N,) 4% to 6%. In generating this during the manufacture of Portland or other cement, wherein the process callsfor a mixture of calcium carbonate, aluminates, silicates, and coal, as is used in some of the processes for manufacturing Portland cement, the

90%; gen, (H 3% to of an average composition approximately\ I l sired degree to form clinker, the gas being conducted through the apparatus as previously described.

1 have found by actual workingof the process and by analytical tests that a ton of ordinary'limestone produces from 13000 to 15000 cubic feet of gas, showing heating power by analysis to be 320 British therma units, and a byiroduct of anhydrous calcium oxid, weig pounds.

The retorts 2 bein' connected at their forward ends only to the retorts 8, necessarily cause all of the gas-generated from the carbonates to pass through the retorts 8 containing the carbon, thereby completely converting the carbon dioxid into carbon monoxid.

I claim:

An apparatus of the class described, comprising a furnace, a pair of inclined reto'rts arranged therein and which retorts are filled with mineral carbonates, air tight fittings arranged on the ends of the retorts, there being a tubular connection between the air tight fittin s at-the lower ends of the retorts,

ing from 1125 to 1140 a third inc lined retort arranged in the furnace adjacent the first mentioned retorts,. and which third retort receives carbonaceous material, air tight fittings arranged on the ends of the third retort, there being a tubular connection between the air tight fittin on the lower end ofthe third retort and t e airtight fitting on the upper one of the first mentioned pair of retorts, a pipe leading from the air tight fitting on the upper end arranged in said pipe, arranged in said pipe.

In testimonywhereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in. presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES H. RIDER. Witnesses:

' M. P. SMITH,

E. L. WALLaCE.

and a suction device 

